Well, Mother’s Day was gorgeous. A warm and balmy 70°, we went for a lovely hike and after that, I prepared a big dinner for my husband, the boys, our friends Chris and Larry and their little ones. We had Chicken Marbella (delicious) and a big spinach salad. Chris helped me to surreptitiously photograph the salad above as the hub does not like it when I take food pics whilst we have guests visiting for a meal. Actually, my entire family gets somewhat annoyed whenever I photograph food if it is anywhere near the dinner hour. They just want to eat. And who can blame them!

In a jar, combine olive oil, vinegar, orange juice, mustard and shake well

Drizzle the dressing over the salad

Toss and serve

On another note, I’ve had something in the hopper for a while now. I have been passionate about the environment for quite some time. Having children drew my focus in from the macrocosm (environmental consulting for Fortune 500 companies) to the microcosm –family and home.

Each spring I am saddened when people in my neighborhood begin to spray their lawns with chemical poisons. There is such a well documented risk of pesticide toxicity; I worry about all of those dogs and children playing on lawns and rolling around in pesticides.

Therefore, I have launched a new site, called My Dandelion is a Flower. If you like your pesticides, then this website is probably not the place for you, so just skip it. If you are a little bit earthy or organic, then definitely check it out –you’ll have a good time. Unlike Elana’s Pantry which is a blog, updated frequently with my writing and recipes, My Dandelion is a Flower is a static site, full of fun facts and helpful hints. Enjoy!